Strawberry
by cerespallas
Summary: A series of events that will eventually lead to the question: should you spend your life to be with one person you thought is the right one, just because it looks right on the outside?
1. Pretty and Sour

**Before we begin...**

Story type: post Sorceress War, Lovers Drama

Genre: Drama

Pairings: Irvine x Selphie, Selphie x Squall, Squall x Rinoa, Irvine x OC

Warnings: Mild Language. Well, okay, not mild.

_- About my stories:_

Maybe it's best to say that I never create a perfect character. Everybody has flaws, and if a character has to suffer to make a believable flow, I am sure to make them suffer. Nobody escapes what needs to be done.

If you want a character that never suffers, perfect in attitude and appearance, never sweats, never have their clothes torn from fights or have his/her hair ruined or even a scrape after blowing up the world, my story isn't for you. To blow up a garbage bin, the characters in my story WILL suffer.

If there's any problem with wording and error in my old fics, please mention it, because I do revise everything every now and then. If some stories seem awkward on the first few chapters, please note the publish date, because it was most likely _they were old_. Later chapters of the same fics won't have this issue. Please tell me by PM or review, and I'll be sure to clean them up.

_A short disclaimer: I don't own FF8._

6 January 2009-Revised.

Final revision 14 April 2012

* * *

**Strawberry**

By Cerespallas

**Part One: Pretty and Sour**

* * *

-x-x-x-

"You... are a plain person, Squall Leonhart. If I'm moving in, you'll see my stuff everywhere." Rinoa turned to him and smiled. "But I will make you the happiest person on Gaia. Are you ready for me?"

Squall leaned to the wall beside the door, arms crossed, eyes watching his girlfriend as she studied his room. There was only one item in his Spartan room that belonged to Leonhart; his gunblade resting beside the king-sized bed.

"Just tell me if there is anything you didn't like. I'll ask Irvine if he wants some of my furniture for their room."

-x-

"Sefie, open the door!" Irvine waited in front of their room; his hands sore, tired from holding stacks of boxes filled with his girlfriend's belongings. "Sefie…!"

"Coming!"

The door opened; his girlfriend stood in her green apron.

After the war, Irvine and Selphie moved in together into his room. For the sniper, it was the best decision. He had a plain white wall, not the shocking yellow-green stripes, and his carpet was green, not sparkling pink. He had given her a strict instruction, forbidding her to paint their room or change the carpet. He tolerated thirty different sizes of Chocobo and Pupu dolls she insisted to bring, now scattered all over their living room.

"What a 'precious' collection you got in here," said Irvine, stepping between numerous stuff doll and CDs on the floor.

"Did you say something?" Selphie stared at the microwave timer.

"I'm sayin' I can't wait for our dinner." Irvine placed the boxes on the floor beside the fridge before stretching his stiff muscle. Selphie took out the food with her napkin as her boyfriend stole a glance at their dinner, trying not to groan.

Once again, their dinner was a one massive portion of Strawberry pie with chocolate spread and marshmallow on top. Irvine would've shot whoever invented the recipe, if the person hadn't already died from diabetes and cholesterol from their own recipe.

_How long was it since I ate another food for dinner?_ Irvine smiled to his girlfriend and sat down on the sofa, accepting the plate filled with strawberry pie and mushy marshmallows. _..How long since we've been together? Let's see... a week? No, no... Before we even defeated Ultimecia, I've been eating this… so it's about four months already…_

Irvine glanced down to his stomach, wasn't sure if he would be panic or instead, setting the microwave on fire if his narrow stomach starting to bulge. Selphie sat next to him, turning on the television. She turned to Irvine, frowning when she saw her auburn-haired boyfriend narrowing his eyes to his own stomach. "Irvy…?"

Irvine blinked, looking at her. "...Yeah?"

"What's wrong? Is your tummy hurt?"

"Nah…" He grinned, took one spoonful of pies into his mouth and chewed it, trying not to show his disgust when the familiar sweets and mushy taste invaded his tongue.

Did the recipe inventor have a family? He would like to meet them and shoot them with his demolition ammo, or some strawberry pie ammo, since they had unlimited supplies inside the fridge.

"You know…" Selphie rested her head in his shoulder. "I just bought strawberry-coloured lingerie today…" Irvine snapped his head to her. "Maybe after this... you can help me put it on?"

This was the first time she saw Irvine finished the pie less than two minutes.

-x-

"I think this is nepotism…" Squall mumbled while reading the SeeD contract. Rinoa looked up from the worksheet in his computer. She sat next to him, at the same desk, only a few inches away.

"Who's going to complain?" His new assistant kissed his temple. "Seriously, Hon, stop being so uptight..."

"Don't call me Honey during work, that shows nepotism altogether." Squall signed the contract and shoved it into her waiting hand. "Copy it three times. Send one to Deling City and the client. Save one for us."

Rinoa left for the photocopier as the commander typed a new contract for Winhill. Five minutes later, his assistant strolled in and set down the copy of the contract on his desk. "Is it okay for me to go now? I'm going shopping with Selphie." She clasped her hands on her back. "I want to buy some stuff for our room."

Squall frowned and glanced at his watch. It was not even lunchtime yet. She asked him if she could ditch a job to go shopping—

"Please, Squall?" Rinoa tilted her head, looking at him with pleading eyes. "Pretty please with sugar on top?" Squall glared at his girlfriend, but she seemed immune to it. Before he shook his head and warned her, Rinoa smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Hon! I'll make it up to you later!" She turned her body away, skipping out of the room while he gasped in disbelief.

_W-what… D-did my assistant just step all over me? _Squall stared at the paper he held onto, unsure how to react.

A few minutes passed, and while he was still busy choosing the right reaction for Rinoa's ignorance, Zell ran in and tapped his desk a few times, trying to get his attention.

"Yo! Yo! Squall!" He waved his hand in front of his face. "Did you just send the original data of our SeeD to Deling?"

"What?" Squall stood up from his chair and reached for the map. "No, it was right here, Rinoa faxed the copy…" his voice faltered. There was only one copy of contract inside the map, minus the original. Zell stood and staggered along with his best friend for a while, before he woke himself from the daze.

"Shit!" Zell sprinted out of the room, already forming a plan to keep the Garden unscathed out of the trouble they just got into. Squall sat down, and after he convinced himself that the original data had gone (that contained ten full SeeDs data that no one outside Garden should ever see), and that his new assistant –that just left shopping-sent _that_ data instead of a fixed copy to Deling…

He banged his forehead on the desk. _I know nepotism is such a bad idea._

-x-

-x-

"…Irvy…?" His girlfriend rapped their bathroom door. She was worried about him. Irvine bit his lip, trying not to moan or cry. He sat beside the toilet, glaring at the ceiling.

_What is wrong with me?_

Two weeks. Two sweet weeks, they had been together. A week ago, she asked him if he wanted to see her in that lingerie.

Of course he did.

But that was it. After he saw her in it, he suddenly felt an urge to sleep without her beside him.

There was nothing wrong with Selphie. Irvine was proud, he would say that she was the prettiest girl he ever saw in any lingerie, aside from Quistis, but he'd never seen the instructor in lingerie so his girlfriend still won the competition on that.

But he felt nothing. When Selphie asked him what they should do next –since somehow he looked drawn and tired— he lied and told her that his day was so long, the mission (which was catching newborn baby sharks near the Rinauld Coast before they moved and grew up near Balamb City) was very tiring…

She understood, smiled and changed her clothes into pajama. When she slept beside him on the bed, Irvine couldn't help but cringe every time her hand brushed his arm.

_Why?_ Irvine buried his face in his hands. _I love Sefie… why do I feel disgusted...?_

After that, he tried his best to stay away from her. Four days in a mission, and he went home today, feeling so loved when she hugged him. She kissed him and told him how much she missed him, and he had thought maybe tonight was the right time.

That was, until he almost puked when he saw her began to undress and ran to the bathroom, locking the door and letting out all his digested dinner. Embarrassed, Irvine had stayed there for hours, until she began to wonder if he was okay.

"..Irvy," Selphie sounded so worried, it broke his heart. "Are you okay? Are you sick? Irvy, please open the door…"

He couldn't do this forever. He had to confess, if he wanted her to understand.

Irvine stood up, opened the door, and saw Selphie's face damp with tears. Irvine gulped with guilt when she hugged him.

"Irvy, what's wrong? You didn't catch anything during the mission, did you? Is it the pie?"

Irvine had an urge to blame the pie, but he steeled himself to tell her the truth.

"Sefie, listen…"

-x-

-x-

Rinoa hugged her knees. She sat on their bed, glancing up to the wall clock above the bed. Swaying her body to the tick, she began to wonder if he would ever walk through the door.

After her silly mistake a few days ago, he had yelled at her and fired her on the spot. The spot being their bedroom and she just went home from shopping. Sulking, Rinoa refused to talk to Squall afterwards.

Which had been her number one mistake: Her boyfriend didn't have any problem with that, and happy when he could go to work for fourteen hours and went home straight to bed, without her high-pitched voice in between.

Rinoa tried her mistake number two: burning the dinner she made for them. Squall saw the dinner, ate it and went to sleep. She ate it and spent three hours in the bathroom afterwards. The day after, Zell told her that SeeD training taught young cadets to eat all the monsters they killed during the camp training for two years not leaving anything but the bone.

Mistake number three: visiting him during work. The mistake? Squall had been in an important meeting in his office when she went in and called him 'my Honey bunny Squally' (or things like that, she didn't even remember anymore). With an unidentified expression, her boyfriend fisted the back of her blue duster and threw her out of the office filled with fifteen surprised high-ranking officers.

After studying her failed plan, Rinoa learned that Squall was agreeable when he was sleepy. When he was about to fall asleep, he would say yes to anything.

Apparently that didn't work all the time. He had said no when she asked him if they can have one male dog for Angelo. And he said a rough no when she asked if Angelo can sleep with them instead on the sofa outside their room.

Rinoa still tried, and when Squall went home yesterday, he found Angelo snuggle with Rinoa on the bed. _Their _bed.

The commander called Zell. Zell held the hysterical Rinoa when her boyfriend put a leash on Angelo and brought her out of their room. He left the innocent dog in the secret area with lots of dog food and water before he locked the door.

Rinoa wailed all night outside the secret area as her dog howled along wondering why her mistress was crying outside the door. In the morning Quistis walked in, unlocked the door and took Angelo out to relieve herself. She told Rinoa that 'animals are allowed only in the training centre.' The blond woman even left her GF, Carbuncle, in the secret area and locked the dog and baby dragon together to prove her point. Rinoa wanted to scratch the instructor's stoic face, but Quistis held a better rank in her boyfriend's eyes, while she was not.

So here she was, lonely and sad, waiting for her hellish boyfriend to come home. Maybe on his permission Angelo could stay in their living room again.

_I'm bored…_ Rinoa pinched their blanket. _Why do I wait? I was never the one who wait…_

Waiting was for Quistis, Zell, Selphie and Irvine. They're SeeDs and they had to follow his orders. Rinoa was his girlfriend. She had to have some special right. Waiting for her boyfriend to come home? Rinoa rolled her eyes. When they were together, Seifer never told her to do anything. He let her do anything she wanted, and even helped her when she need an accomplice.

_Hm…._ Rinoa punched the blanket in boredom. _When_ _he comes home, I will tell him that Angelo will sleep on the sofa and there is nothing he can do, period. After all, I have the right to keep her in here!_

Or did she? Rinoa frowned, reminding herself that she was not a SeeD. She was here for Squall. Rinoa was his girlfriend, which was why he let her stay in the Garden and his room. She and her dog stayed for free. Rinoa buried her face between her knees, failing to notice silent steps of the commander who opened the living room door and removed his jacket.

Squall walked inside the bedroom, ignoring the slump which was his girlfriend, and walking straight into the bathroom. When the shower had been turned on, Rinoa snapped her head up in surprise. She stood up and walked to the bathroom, peeking inside.

Squall massaged his tired muscle below the hot water, feeling Rinoa watch him. He sighed. "What, Rin?"

The girl pouted, wondering how he noticed every time she was checking him out even with his eyes closed. She walked in, staying out of the range of water.

"Can we talk?" She looked around and decided to sit on the counter.

"Spill it."

"No." Rinoa bowed her head. "Not now… you won't even care what I'm telling you right now. After you shower, can we just sit on the sofa and talk about it?"

Squall fluttered his eyes open. He was sore after three meetings in a row. Without an assistant, his workload doubled. Zell tried his best to help, but his best friend wasn't known for his compatibility with paperwork. In the end he sent the blond to the machine room, to fix whatever it was that stopped the gear from turning and Garden from moving.

He had a chance at twenty two hundred to find Zell, as he never came back up to his office. He found the blond fighting with spinning machinery and leaking oil from broken tubes. He managed to close the leaking pipe and stay away from the oil. It didn't ruin his clothes, but Zell didn't look as good as him. Together, they fixed the pipes, and now Squall was washing away the traces of dirt and sweat collected in his skin.

He hoped that when he went home, Rinoa had been crying all night about Angelo and fell asleep. He could bathe and went straight to bed, embracing his pretty girlfriend and waking up just in time to work before she did.

Her determination to talk was missing from his calculation.

"Yeah…" He moved his aching shoulder. "Just go to the sofa first. I'll be right there."

Rinoa left him in the shower. She walked into their living room, feeling happier than before and decided to make him something to eat.

Ten minutes later, Squall stepped in the living room with damp hair and black pajama pants. He raised his eyebrow when he saw Rinoa set a plate of noodle in front of the coffee table.

"Sit, and eat while we talk." She gestured to the sofa and sat on one end. Squall sat on the other end, his body facing her. His boyfriend reached for the plate and set it on his lap when she nodded to herself and began:

"Squall… you know how much I love Angelo, don't you?"

"Hn." Squall stretched out and rested the side of his head on the sofa, closing his eyes.

"Why don't you let me have Angelo back?" She studied her hands on her lap. "I need her."

"Told you not to let the dog on our bed…"

...Okay, she had to do this slowly. "I'm lonely, I need Angelo."

No answer.

"Why don't you spend a bit more time with me? I know they need you since Cid won't return, but… I need you too." She hugged herself. "I need you to be there with me, listening to me when I want to talk, with me when I want to share moments with you. You're never here… I want you to at least give me a bit of your time."

She continued, "I met you only an hour each day. I don't want to be here waiting all the time. When you came back, you only nodded to me and went straight to bed. How long has it been since we last hug each other? Why do you have to go to work so early? When I moved in with you, I thought we would share our feelings and do things together… but that's not what happened…"

Rinoa sighed before saying, "Why don't you share your burden with me? I know I'm not that reliable on the job and I don't understand the SeeD thing, but at least you can talk to me, speak to me about your work. I know some part of your job is secret but it makes me happy when you share your life with me, since I will be glad to spend my life with you. Don't you think so too… Squall?"

She glanced toward her boyfriend.

The Commander had fallen asleep.


	2. Sweet Outside, Bitter Inside

**Part two: Sweet Outside, Bitter Inside**

* * *

It was quiet. The rest of the Garden residents were fast asleep.

Selphie lay in silence, in her sofa. She couldn't sleep. Her mind shifted back and forth, to the man who had been sleeping inside the bedroom and herself. She wondered about her own luck, how she ended up with insatiable love.

She would have spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling of her living room, if the knock on the door hadn't pulled her away from her own monologue. She sat up and turned to the door.

"Selphie!" Rinoa's voice. "Selphie, are you there? Are you awake?"

She made her way to the door. Opening the door, Selphie let Rinoa in.

"Sorry I woke you," her guest said, glancing around the room. "Is Irvine still up?"

She shook her head. Her boyfriend had been fast asleep before ten. After what he had admitted yesterday, the girl had been hesitant to sleep next to him. She'd long been curious as to why Irvine hadn't hugged her or touched her when they were asleep on the same bed. Now that she had understood the reason, she couldn't bring herself to sleep in the same bed with him. Irvine had no idea about her thoughts, and had been sleeping better than he ever had since she moved in. The girl sneaked out of the room and lay on the sofa, staring at the ceiling for hours.

"He's sleeping. What is it, Rin?" Her black-haired friend looked tired and sad. Selphie inhaled. "Squall?"

Rinoa nodded.

Sighing, Selphie motioned to the sofa. Every time Rinoa had a fight or anything concerning Squall, she came to her. Selphie listened and gave out soothing words; Hyne knew she was a good listener and tolerant friend. But sometimes, it was hard to be nice when you had your own problem.

"He fell asleep without even talking to me." Rinoa sat down on the sofa, brought her knees up and embraced them. "I don't understand. Am I _that_ boring?"

"I think he's just tired." Selphie leaned on the wall near the sofa. "Did he tell you that you're boring?"

"He didn't even say anything!" Rinoa sulked. "He went to sleep as soon as he went out from the shower!"

"Then how come you think he thought that you're boring?" Selphie frowned. "He thought that you thought that he thought you're boring too?" That settled it. She had lost her mind. She_ needed_ sleep, fast.

Rinoa glanced at her. "Huh?"

"Umm..." Selphie scratched her temple. "Never mind… What is it about the shower? Did he just get back now? I thought his office hour is just until six?"

"It is. But he always went home after midnight! I don't understand. Why can't he come home sooner?"

_He will if you stop waiting and start giving him some space. He's a loner by nature after all. If you stop bombarding him with questions and just stay with him when he needs it, he won't act like that._

_Whoa, wait a minute..._ _I wasn't judging Rin's action just now, was I?_

While Selphie frowned to herself, Rinoa kept talking, "I can't understand! I mean, I thought he'd be different after the whole ordeal!"

"What ordeal?"

Rinoa gave her a strange look. "You know it! The whole Ultimecia war! I thought he'll change his attitude after that."

Selphie frowned. _Why does Squall have to be different after the war?_ "I don't understand."

"After we—" Rinoa stopped for a second, waving her hand in the air, to clarify her point. "Kissed in the party and all that we've been through, I thought he'd at least prioritize me over his work. But _no_, he just _has_ to work. I was just staying in that room, waiting for him to come home, every single day."

"I thought you were his assistant?"

Rinoa looked sheepish. "I got fired." She shook her head when the girl was about to ask 'why'. "Don't ask, please."

Selphie arched her brow. _I don't think it's necessary for him to change who he was for someone else. Squall is Squall, he shouldn't change himself. _Of course, the thought barely echoed out from her lips.

"So…" Rinoa stood up. "I guess it's time for you to sleep, huh? It's morning anyway. Thanks for listening to me, Selph." She hugged Selphie before leaving.

Selphie closed the door and crossed her arm, thinking. When she realized how her pose made her looked like a mini Squall, she rested her arms to her side.

_No use thinking about it, I guess._ She put her hand to her hip, looking down to her side. _I'll go and help him out, so Rin can have plenty of time with him. It's not like I have any mission anyway._

When she recognized her pose as, once again, belonged to Squall, she scowled and muttered. "Whatever."

The rest of the hour before dawn were well spent, posing in ways that she figured wouldn't be marked as Squall's pose.

When the short needle on the wall clock pointed to five, the exhausted, sleepless girl decided to inject herself with a high dose of sugar and caffeine, before finding a genuine pose she could claim as her own; other than bouncing up and down. Tilting head was hers, but the puppy-dog-look was Zell's original. Tipping hat was Irvine's, and she didn't have a hat anyway. Squall had pretty much taken the entire available poses as his own. For one who had claimed to detest attention, their commander had too much trademarks!

-x—

-x—

He was signing on the papers when she entered. The commander looked up and frowned when he saw Selphie stomped toward him. "Anything I can do for you?"

The usual happy-go-lucky girl didn't seem content. "You're greedy, you know."

Squall blinked. "What?"

"You stole them all!" She huffed, pointing at him. "There is nothing I can call my own!"

He stared at her. Then, after he gave up trying to understand what she was talking about, he turned back to his files. "Is there anything else?"

Selphie walked to his side, bent down and read his documents. "What are you doing?"

"Basic mission," Squall said. He kept reviewing as she stared at his work. Then, she walked away. He thought she'd leave. Instead, Selphie took some folders out of his cabinets and started reading through them. Squall glanced at her but decided to let her do whatever she wanted. After all, there was nothing the orphanage gang didn't know about Garden's secrets and missions. All of them were basically the high executives of Balamb Garden, only without official titles.

After reading through papers and mumbling something incoherent, Selphie pulled out one folder and strode to him. She handed the paper to him.

"Here you go."

Squall stared at the paper, taking it from her hand. He arched his brow. "Yes, this is what I need. How do you know?"

"Why shouldn't _I_ know? Zell and I were bored to death when that consultant explained it in a meeting." Selphie sulked. "The meeting _you_ were supposed to attend." Three days ago, Squall sent Selphie and Zell in a meeting. She had been sent in his stead with Zell because the meeting was for two, and Irvine was away on a mission. He couldn't send Quistis out of class for two days. Squall had more important things to do than sitting for five hours in front of a Dollet consultant who had been chatting away his precious time every time they met.

"I never thought you were actually listening to anything in that meeting," Squall murmured as he put the paper on his desk. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Selphie glowered. "And what's that 'never thought you were listening' about? I'm a SeeD. In case you forget..." She marched to the front of his desk, waving to him. When he stared at her, she grinned and saluted. "SeeD rank A, Selphie Tilmitt, nice to meet you, Sir! I've been here for a year and three months, you've met me since Dollet SeeD exam, when we both passed it together! I helped you battling Galbadian, Ultimecia and kicked Seifer Almasy's ass! Our room is located across from yours, and you were always nagging us about the noise coming from my Chocobo Series that my boyfriend and I watched every night!"

He couldn't help but let out a small smile.

"So…" Selphie grinned. "Anything else I can do to help?"

Considering her offer, Squall looked around. He did need some help. After Cid left them to live with Edea, his secretary resigned leaving Squall alone with piles of papers. Quistis and Xu helped him a lot for a week, but they too had their own jobs. Quistis was back teaching the cadets and Xu had to leave B-Garden often, her job was to expand their connections to the military higher ups and rich associates. That should've been Squall's job as well, but he managed to convince her that he would end up ruining their connections by saying his one word trademark to the investors, in every kind of situation.

Now, a week and four days after the victory banquet, he was frustrated trying to do everything by himself. He couldn't ask for assistance from people he barely knew. But his orphanage gang had been busy themselves. Irvine and Zell were his two active SeeDs, he trusted them to handle the missions, even though one of them wasn't legally a SeeD. Quistis had to teach more than five classes on her own. And Selphie had been busy with—

Squall frowned. Wait a minute…

He narrowed his eyes to the girl. Yes, Selphie didn't do anything.

He had found 'The Freeloader'.

"What have you been doing after the party, Selph?" Squall's voice chilled the room by ten degrees.

Selphie looked away and mumbled to herself. "Damn it." She quickly raised her hand up, smiling to him. "Didn't you listen to what I said before? I'm volunteering to help you! Aren't you glad?"

Squall didn't buy it. "I mean it. What have you done all this time?"

"Now now." She waved him away, moving toward the cabinet and pulling some folders out. "Let's work, shall we? Okay, I'll review the missions and start contacting those clients for you."

She snatched the wireless phone on his desk and scampered away before he managed to grab her arm. Shaking her head to the commander, she kept her cheery voice, "Play later! Work first!" She sat on the sofa, far away from his desk. Then she started opening up the folders, sorting out the work she had to do.

-x—

-x—

Rinoa crossed her arms and glared at the ground. She leaned on a bulky tree in the Training Centre next to the Secret Area. She was waiting for a woman that she loathed.

Quistis Trepe had long since forgotten about Rinoa's childish behaviour. Now, she was about to be reminded again.

"This isn't right," the commander's girlfriend protested as Quistis finished taking Angelo for a leak and ready to lock the dog again. "Why are you doing this to me? What have I done to you?"

Quistis shook her head. "It wasn't my decision. You know whose decision it was."

The girl gritted her teeth. "Are you telling me you lock Carbuncle away in there in his orders too?"

Quistis shooed Angelo inside the secret area and locked the door. She turned to Rinoa. "Will you stop blaming me if I tell you that, yes, it was Squall's orders? I don't see anything wrong with putting them here. He supplied them with a lot of food and your dog has my GF to play with."

"This is wrong!" Rinoa shouted to her. "Angelo is _my_ dog! The decision to do something concerning Angelo is supposed to be mine!"

Quistis massaged her temples. "I should remind you on what kind of place you're staying now. Shouting to me won't work. Begging to him does." She sighed. "Listen, as long as they are happy and healthy, I don't think there's something wrong with it. He tolerated it to a certain degree, but you stepped on the limit. Angelo was lucky he didn't throw it out of Garden."

"Squall won't do that!" Rinoa yelled. "This is _my_ dog! My boyfriend won't do anything to her!"

"Don't yell at me." Quistis began to lose her patience. "If all you can do is shouting, do it to your boyfriend, not to me. I'm just his subordinate." She held up her hand when she saw Rinoa ready to shout again. "Let me explain, I-do-not-care. Good afternoon." She turned around, leaving Rinoa yelling at her.

The fuming girl crouched down, sobbing. Angelo had been her best friend ever since she was twelve. She couldn't let her stay in Secret Area, for Hyne knew how long she'd be staying at Garden. If things continued to be this way, it wouldn't take long for her to go insane. She needed her dog.

Rinoa's eyes flickered to the door. She could do something. She could find someone that wouldn't be afraid to face the commander. Someone, who would do things for her and upset the commander at the same time.

Begging to Squall never passed her mind. She knew how hard-headed Squall was, and how she would lose the debate if all she equipped with was a pitiful beg. Squall would ignore her or worse, kicking Angelo out of the Garden. The dog, even being the one who had been there during their journey, mattered nothing to Squall. He had never been close to the dog anyway, even though Angelo adored him. Rinoa had a suspicion that Angelo would fight Marlboros and Behemoths alone if it was for the gunblader. It was strange that the two of them fell for the same cold-hearted human.

Rinoa stood up, nodding to herself as she walked out of the Training Centre.

She knew right away who would do the job for her.

-x—

-x-

Irvine was relieved. Selphie was surprised when he admitted it, but she smiled, shrugged and said that they didn't need to rush anyway. He felt so relieved.

Eleven days since they became a couple; last night was the first time he slept so comfortably. There was no nagging feeling in his head, forcing him to do things to Selphie—things he never wanted to do to her.

Here he was, sitting on the bench in the fountain area, singing a song. He didn't even know the lyrics and everyone had said he was awful at singing. But hey, there was no one in there (the rest of the student body might have been fleeing from the hall when they heard him singing) and he was happy.

"Irvine," echoed a voice next to him, "…you are amazin'ly shrilly."

Irvine turned towards the voice, smiling when he saw Lucia stood next to his bench. He patted the seat next to him, waiting for his childhood red-haired friend to sit.

The Galbadian SeeD accepted the offer. Since the G-Garden was down, plenty of its G-soldiers and SeeDs fled to B-Garden. The first time Irvine saw her face after the war was five days ago, when she aided him on the mission. The mission itself went fine and well. Squall was pleased with their work.

Lucia closed her ears with both hands when she heard Irvine start singing again. "Irv… stop it."

Irvine shot her playful looks. "Can't a man sing when he wants to?"

"Yes. In his room, alone." A girl passed the edge of Lucia's view. She turned, seeing Rinoa walking to the gate. Irvine noticed Lucia's gaze and watched the blue-clothed girl disappear.

"Where's she goin' alone?" Lucia whispered to him.

Irvine shrugged. Rinoa never went out alone. Squall didn't want his girlfriend attacked by T-Rexaur or other things living on the Balamb coast (Rinoa would never meet T-Rexaur if she didn't wander into the jungle, but hey, this was Rinoa we were talking about…). He always instructed the orphanage gang to accompany her every time she wanted to go out, anywhere. Since everyone was so busy, lately the task had fallen into Selphie's hand.

Irvine crossed his arms. _Where is Sefie anyway? When I woke up she wasn't there. She left no notes, nothing. Is she working in the Quad? That's strange. She's supposed to be the one to watch over Rin._

Lucia nudged him. "Wanna follow her?"

Irvine arched his brow. "If she knows we're stalkin' her, I'm gonna be in deep trouble, Darlin'."

"Then don't act like we're followin' her." Lucia licked her lips. "I got nothin' to do anyway. It's interestin' to see where the commander's girlfriend went out, all alone." Her eyes widened as she whispered. "Ooooh, can it be? Is she havin' an affair?"

Irvine coughed in shock. "Rin?" He waved his hand.

"Yeah, that's what you say." Lucia stood up. "Okay, bye Irv."

"Hey… you're not serious?" Irvine followed his friend. "Luce! Don't! You're gonna be in trouble!"

-x—

-x—

"Nice talking to you!" Selphie put the phone down. She skipped towards the commander's desk. "There! We're done for the day!" She set the phone and her notes on his desk.

Squall glanced up. "Yeah... thanks."

But Selphie didn't go away. Instead, she hopped to his side. "Let's go home!"

"I'm not finished with this."

Selphie bent down to his work, reading it. Squall's brow furrowed in annoyance. Her face was too close to his paper for him to read anything. Then Selphie turned her head to Squall and he had to move his head away; her lips were too close to his.

Ignoring his discomfort, Selphie shook her head. "This is for tomorrow's work! Don't do today what you should do tomorrow!"

Squall frowned. "I think it's the other way."

"Details, who cares about them?" Selphie grabbed and pulled his arm, forcing him to stand up. Squall arched his brow, he didn't move even a bit. "Come on! It's five already! Go home to Rin!"

Squall rested his free elbow against the table, staring at Selphie as she tried pulling him up without success. "She asked you to do this, didn't she?"

Selphie stopped pulling him up and huffed in distress. She hated when someone showed they were stronger than her. He could at least humour her a little, right? "No, she didn't. I do this for her, but she knows nothing. So, now you can go back and hug her and tell her how much you love her and kiss her! Please go home now!" She crouched next to his chair and shot him with Zell's original move, puppy-dog-eyes. "Please?"

Squall sighed. _… I don't have much to do anyway._ "Alright." He stood up, ignoring Selphie's loud cheer as he scooped his room key and motioned for her to get out. After she went out, he followed, turning off the lamp switch and locking the door.

"There, good boy!" She started bouncing up and down. "I promise you won't regret this!"

The commander rolled his eyes and walked away. She followed him into the elevator shaft.

"You were pretty good at office work." Squall said, pushing the ground button.

"Thanks!" Selphie swayed her body, waiting for the elevator to carry them down. "I guess managing festivals is pretty much the same as managing papers."

Crossing his arms, Squall let out his mind. "I think you should have a permanent job."

Her eyes widened in horror.

Squall glanced at her. "How about it? You want to do missions or paperwork?"

"Can't I just do the weekly festival event?" Selphie sighed when Squall didn't answer. "I'll think about it. If I'm an active SeeD, will you pair me with Irvy all the time?"

"No."

Selphie brood, toddling out from the elevator as it opened at their destination. Squall followed in silence. When they reached the front door of her room, she turned toward him.

"Okay, see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow?" Squall stared at her. "You want to do paperwork _again_?"

"I'll do anything to help my friends!" She grinned. "Bye!"

Squall stared at the girl until she disappeared into her room. Then, he turned to his own room across from hers.

_What shall I do tonight?_ He could take Rinoa outside for a dinner. Her cooking wasn't bad, but he couldn't say it was good either. Squall preferred something less...salty. He loved sweets more than any other flavour. They could have some ice cream or pie.

_Strawberry and chocolate… _Squall went inside. _Some marshmallows… maybe I just take her camping on the coast today. The moon looked so bright this past week. Just the two of us… Wait…_ Squall looked around, _this couldn't be… she always told me when she went out… _

_Maybe she's in Selphie's room…?_

He headed to Selphie's door and knocked. "Selph," he said when she opened the door. "Is Rin inside?"

Selphie shook her head. "No."

"Does Irvine know where she is?" Squall put his hand on his hip, wondering why she didn't tell him anything. "She didn't leave me a note."

Selphie frowned at Squall. "He isn't here either." She rested her hand on her hip, mirroring his pose. "He didn't leave me any note _either_."


	3. Red and Freckled

**Part Three: Red and Freckled**

* * *

"SEI?" The girl with an eye patch said, "WHERE?"

The man put on his coat, his back on his posse. "Just going out for a bit."

"Seif, watch out for –you know," Raijin said.

Nodding, he strolled out from their rented hotel room, closing the door behind him.

"Well, what to do?" he queried to himself.

It was the same question he asked himself every single day, for the last eleven days. There should be something he could do in this town…. Anything but fishing. He grew tired of it. Most of the time he would return back to his posse empty handed.

When the war ended, he had prepared himself to face the forthcoming execution. It would be an unjust penalty and dishonourable way to die from his point of view, but he was prepared for it nonetheless.

It never came.

Instead, after being thrown here and there by the Time Kompression, the ex-knight of the greatest sorceress ever lived, Seifer Almasy, found himself lying in the dirt path of Balamb Town. No one seemed to care why he was there, or who he was. All the people were talking about was Leonhart.

That young Commander of Balamb Garden, Squall Leonhart. They yakked about how amazing he was, how he whipped the badass sorceress and her lowly knight into oblivion. They nattered about his heroic acts, his beautiful sorceress Rinoa Heartily, and the rest of Leonhart's group.

No one knew who Seifer Almasy was.

After he wasted several days sitting on the empty dock, staring at the wide blue sea and wondering if he should jump, someone called out to him. He turned and saw his posse smiling at him.

They were back for him.

Or at least, that was what they wanted him to believe. From the news he had watched, he knew that they too had become a fugitive. Several of the Galbadian military officers had priced their heads, with or without a body attached, and the only thing they could do was sticking together. Not that Seifer minded it.

But now, as days gone by and they had spent their cash and time lodging and fishing, Seifer wondered if there was another way of living. Surely there would be something more interesting than this, right?

Often, after his friends slept in their own beds at night, he spent hours staring outside the window, where the Garden of Balamb stood proud and shiny. His old home, the only home he had. He often wondered; if the whole thing never happened, would he become a SeeD?

Probably not, but at least he wouldn't spend the rest of his life avoiding them. They didn't care much about him, but he felt perturbed to stay in the same space with the group he tried to destroy just a month ago. He had no doubt that the SeeDs' order to ignore Knight Seifer Almasy had come from the man he resented. The kind of man he would sacrifice his life to be. But no matter how much he tried, he would never become Squall.

He was—and always would be—a failed traitor, the wussy-knight Seifer Almasy. The one who had been chosen by the best sorceress, yet failed to protect her.

Since his downfall, Seifer had spent hours thinking about what happened. What if he chose another path? What if he was a SeeD? What if he followed orders during his SeeD exam? What would happen if he never came to Timber?

He thought long and hard about it, rolling one idea in his head and changing it to another just as quickly. But in the end, he came to one decision.

That was his past. He couldn't change it.

But he could choose his future.

"That's pretty big, coming from someone like me," Seifer muttered, stepping out to the town of Balamb. Enjoying the warm afternoon sun, he glanced up to the sky, wondering why the sun kept shining bright and the time kept moving on without him, because he—of all people—was stuck in this cycle, a cycle of wallowing self-pity.

What should he do now? Their money was running out. He could try looking for an employment; he was pretty good in labour work. A few store owners might want to hire an extra worker for packing up their merchandise. He didn't feel it was a right job for someone like him, but it was still legal and honourable, rather than moving to Deling City and working inside the gay strip club as a—

He shuddered.

That was how Rinoa found him. Her ex-boyfriend, her former enemy, her ex-kidnapper stood in front of Balamb Hotel, staring at the asphalt road ahead of him. His eyes downcast, his hands inside his coat pocket. His Hyperion sheathed inside the holster, placed on his hips, covered by his coat and ready to be unsheathed the moment an enemy moved too close. His long coat had seen a better day; it was torn apart and looked a lot darker than it used to.

"Seifer?" she called out. She never met him after he walked away from them in Lunatic Pandora, and she had no idea how he would react to her.

Hearing his name, the man turned toward the voice. His eyes widened when he realized who the caller was. He stood rigid when she toddled to him, looking behind her for any sign of Leonhart.

"I come alone," Rinoa said, realizing who Seifer was looking for.

His eyes turned back to his former girlfriend. She looked healthy. There were dark circles under her eyes and she looked tired, but nevertheless she was looking a lot better than before, when he last saw her in Lunatic Pandora. Now, she had a famous boyfriend and she herself had become a well-known sorceress—while he became nothing.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Mrs. Leonhart?"

If Rinoa felt insulted by his mockery, she was good at hiding it. "I need your help."

"Is this something Squall can't do?" Seifer goaded. "Because I hardly believe Sorceress Heartily needs me, a lowly life Almasy, for things her knight can do himself."

"Stop it, Seifer," hissed Rinoa. "I didn't come here for this."

"Oh, how shocking."

Rinoa shut her eyes, counting to ten. She needed this man. She had to remember that, and not letting him win by shooting Angel Wings on him. Holding her temper would be hard, considering her fingers had started emitting dangerous magic sparks by now.

Around them, there was no other activity. The town was dull in the afternoon. There were only a few people on the road, including the two of them. Nothing much changed from Balamb Town since the Second Sorceress War. Ma Dincht still stayed next to the Car Rental shop and the train station was still empty. Occasionally the Card Queen and a particularly sexy female photographer would drop by only to leave just as quickly, as there was nothing of importance ever happened in here. Squall prohibited the press and media to enter Balamb Garden, concerned that it would disrupt class schedules and SeeDs missions. The press meeting and conference happened in Deling City and Timber, thus there was no point to visit this small, idyllic town.

Still trying to hold herself together, the Commander's girlfriend failed to notice two pairs of eyes observing her from afar. They hid behind the edge of Balamb Hotel's outer wall, tilting their heads to see the events that happened in front of them.

"…Seifer?" whispered the surprised male.

"That _hot_ blonde is Seifer?" The red-haired agent bulged her eyes out, checking the tall blonde from head to toe. "Whoa, I can see why many of the B-SeeDs talkin' 'bout him. Seifer Almasy, huh…?" she cogitated with a chuckle. "Hmm, what a _big_ gunblade…"

Annoyed, Irvine nudged his friend a bit rougher than usual. "This ain't the time for that."

"Oh, on the contrary Irv…" Lucia smirked. "There was no better time than this…"

Irvine rolled his eyes, pushing her head back toward the hiding spot when Rinoa turned around. "Hide!"

They hid back behind the wall, waiting until the girl they spied on turn her body back to face Seifer. Irvine moved his head to spy his target, as she conferred with their former enemy.

What's she doing in here? Did Squall know anything about this? Irvine didn't feel right to report the girl's activity to his Commander, but if there was anything that she hid from Squall regarding Seifer, it might be precarious. Or—maybe Squall told her to do this, and she had to hide it from the gang.

Wait, it didn't sound right. If there was someone that Squall would send as a stool pigeon or herald, it would be Selphie or him, not Rinoa. She had nothing to do with SeeD, and she was not qualified enough for any kind of amateur mission, let alone converse with someone as difficult as Almasy. She must've come here without Squall's permission.

_But for what?_

"Havin' an affair, apparently," Lucia said, reading his thoughts. Irvine glanced at his friend, saying nothing. "Well, what else can it be? She's comin' alone, meetin' a hunk who wasn't her lover in a lone town..."

"This isn't a lone town," Irvine corrected. "This is a public road, the town's just... sleepy at this hour. There's nothin' wrong meetin' someone in a place like this."

"If you say so."

Seifer threw his head back, laughing out loud. Grinning, he walked to Rinoa and circled his arm around her shoulders. The sniper was dismayed when he saw Squall's girlfriend strode together with Almasy toward the hotel.

Lucia's mouth formed a big 'O'. She glanced to the sniper, decided to shut her mouth and didn't comment on anything she just saw. Massaging her neck, she stood up and sauntered away from him. "I'll stick in here until she's out. You better go home now."

"Um?" Irvine woke up from his flummox, looking to the leaving girl. "What?"

"I said I'll wait in Balamb," Lucia said, waving to him. "I don't think she'll walk out that fast anyway, so I'll be checkin' out the shops. See ya."

Irvine frowned. What should he do if he went home now? He didn't fancy being the one who tattled to Squall about his girlfriend's secret meeting! How should he justify their reunion inside a hotel?

Huffing, he paced to catch up with his friend. "It's not fair. I'm not the one who wanted to come here in the first place!"

Lucia looked at him, giving him her flirty smile. "Comin'? You might wanna buy somethin' for that cutie of yours."

"Her name's Selphie," Irvine said.

"Yeah, whatever," the G-SeeD said. "How 'bout sexy Galbadia's Secret?" Looking to Irvine's jaded face, she asked, "What? I know you often bought lingerie for your girls. She doesn't go for sexy?" she questioned, trying to remember Irvine's girlfriend. The girl always wore a yellow short jumper. She was jumpy, bouncy and smiley. The G-SeeD thought that she could look inside her skirt if she pretended to fall down for a bit. Not that she wanted to look behind woman's clothes, but that girl is just too hyper with that short skirt—

"Nope, not that," Irvine said. He walked by her side, ambling past a music store. "Selphie likes music, I think." He entered the store, not waiting for Lucia's reply.

"Hmm…" his friend intoned as she followed him inside. "What's up with you guys? Tell me."

"Nothin'," Irvine said. He moved past the disc section, browsing on the selection half-heartedly.

"Ooh, Irv," she jeered him with a giggle. "Ya can't do it?"

He dropped the disc in shock.

Her eyes wide open as she gawked. "Seriously? Seriously! You can't–"

He swathed her mouth, looking around. There was no one inside the store but a very bored looking shopkeeper, who didn't even spare a glance at them after her loud shout. He glared at her as he released his hand. "What is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with _you_?" she shot back. "Wow, I always thought you're the man. Seriously, Irv? What's wrong? Did beatin' Ultimecia made you impotent or somethin'? Did she curse you or makin' sure that part didn't work anymore?"

Sometimes, Irvine wanted so bad to strangle this kid, but he often didn't remember why. "Just shut up," he growled.

"Nah, I won't."

He glared at her. "You know," he told her, hoping that she wouldn't pass out the case to anyone once he spill it out. "I'm not in the mood."

"For that?" She let out a hearty laugh. "You're not in the mood? Oh wow! No, really Irv, tell me all about it."

"You're a witch, you know that?"

"Like I care." Lucia shrugged. "What? She's a cold fish or something?"

Irvine glanced to the shopkeeper, making sure he didn't hear him out from that far range. "You know?" he whispered. "Sometimes you're not doin' that, because it's not what you want to do."

His discussion partner tilted her head in confusion. "What do ya wanna do then?"

Irvine blinked. Yeah, what did he want to do then?

"Ya wanna marry her before you do it?" Lucia quizzed. "Wanna be Mr. Nice Guy?"

"No," Irvine answered, shaking his head. "I'm not—"

"It's just a dodgin' statement then. Cliché," affirmed her. "Ya don't do it 'coz she's not hot."

"Stop it," the agitated sniper said. He turned away and ready to walk out, leaving her. She reached out to him and held his arm.

"I'm not tryin' to make ya mad or anythin', Irv," she declared. "You'll realize that she's not for you soon enough. Trust me."

He shook her hand off, marching out from the store.

-x—

-x—

"Mmm…" Selphie intoned, tilting her head at Squall's blank looks. "Want to come in?"

The lonely Commander stared at her.

"Just come in," Selphie said and opened the door ajar. "I made a pie, you want it?" Without waiting for his reply, she left him standing at the door and moved towards the kitchen area. "It's a strawberry pie with chocolate chip and marshmallow!"

If that time she chose to look at her back rather than opening the fridge, she might be cheering with glee as Squall entered inside her room faster than the speed of light.

Closing the door, Squall looked around. The living room looked like it had been hit by a huge tornado. A series of Chocobo documenter films scattered on the floor, ten or more Chocobo plushies sprawled on every surface available. There was a huge blanket formed a mess on the sofa, pictures spread on the coffee table, next to an unfinished photo album.

He walked closer to the coffee table, looking down at the pictures. One of them was the picture taken at the party. All of them were looking at the camera with a different expression. Zell grinned with a hot dog stuffed in his mouth, the library girl looking amused beside him. Squall knew they weren't an item, because a few days after the party, he saw her walking in Balamb town, holding hands with a particularly conceited SeeD. Zell lumbered into his office that day, looking bitter and lost.

Quistis stared at the camera with a detached expression. Most would say it was her professional look, but Squall had been too close with Instructor Trepe to recognize this look. She was tired and despondent; this was the same look that she wore on the day she called him to accompany her into the Secret Area. But why? Why did she look like this even after they defeated the evil? Squall had made sure she got her license back! Why was she unhappy?

Selphie and Irvine waved to the camera. Both of them giddy, linking hands with one another. Irvine winked to the screen while Selphie stuck her tongue out. Squall glanced at the real girl who was preparing the meal. She hummed her trademark train song, pulling out the plates and knives for the pie. He glanced back at the photo with a slight smile.

And last, there was him and Rinoa. The girl looked at the screen with a content expression, Squall stood behind her, looking at the camera, a tinge of blush adoring his cheek. He remembered it was right after their first kiss. He was feeling happy and satisfied with his current life at that point.

Was he happy now?

Squall stopped his inspection, walking to the sofa and sitting on it. He grimaced when he sat on something hard. Standing up and pulling the blanket off the sofa, he removed the TV remote and several bullets from Irvine's gun from the seat he just sat on. Placing the items on the table, he wondered why Irvine didn't chastise Selphie for this mess.

Was he happy now? Squall stared at the blank TV screen. He wouldn't say he was. At that time he would say yes, but now, his life was chaotic. He had no time for himself. Even the obligatory breakfast with his gang had been missing from his agenda for the past six days. After he woke up, he always sprinted to the bathroom, took a two minute shower and dressed up before running to his office at six. It was crazy, but he would deal with more piles of paperwork unless he did it earlier than everyone. He was the sole dictator of this Garden now, and he couldn't trust anyone enough for shedding some of his burden.

"Soo…" Selphie startled him. He looked up and accepted the plate she gave him.

"Thanks," he said. The girl sat beside him, putting her feet on the table. Squall stared in horror as her feet stayed on top of their pictures, right on his face.

"Tell me the news!" the girl said, drawing the Commander's attention to her face.

"News?"

"Yup! Anything!" Taking a big spoonful of pie, Selphie stuffed it inside her mouth.

"What news?" Squall wondered. "You know almost anything concerning the Garden."

"Duh! Of course I did," she answered while eating, rolling her eyes. "I mean with you and Rin."

"Nothing," he reacted.

"…Well. It's okay if you don't want to tattle…" she murmured, looking dejected.

Squall chewed the first bite of her pie. His eyes bulged out and he stood up at once. Selphie stared at the man as he threw the plate away, ran into the bathroom and spewed the pie out. "Are you having a bad cold or something, Squall?"

"What the hell is this?" he bawled from the bathroom.

"Excuse me?" She huffed, standing up in defiance. "It's a pie! A pie! Irvine ate it every dinner! We have this every dinner!" Marching to the bathroom, she stopped at the door and shot him a sad but disturbed frown. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's inedible!" Squall said, wiping his mouth with the sleeve of his clothes. "I can't believe Irvine ate this!" No, wait—on another thought, he did look skinnier. This might be a good diet food.

Selphie shot him a whining look, but he paid no heed and started criticizing, "It's too sweet. Too sugary, too slimy, you can't chew it without spewing it out. Once it melts inside your mouth, all you think about is releasing this painful thing as soon as possible from your tongue." Probably that's why Irvine lost his weight so quickly. Maybe he should ask for the recipe, he needed it for Rinoa—

"But Irvine always ate it! ...I hurt him every time I made him dinner? Nooo!" she wailed, crouching down and chanting. "I'm a bad girl. Bad, bad, bad, bad girlfriend… I'm a bad girlfriend…bad, bad…"

Squall awkwardly patted her head, placating her. "Still have the material?"

Selphie pointed to the fridge. He left her to open the fridge.

Once he opened the door and looked inside, he was speechless. The fridge was filled with almost two dozen pies and endless supplies of strawberry. He inhaled and started removing the pies, putting it on the counter.

"Throw this away. You're killing Irvine."

Wiping her tears away, the girl stood up and did as he told her. Squall took a fist of strawberries and placed in on the counter. He opened up the shelves, pulling out the knife, bag of flour and cutting pan.

"I'll show this only once. After this, you never saw me cooking or baking," he said, glancing at Selphie. "Got it?"

Her teary eyes shone with excitement. She nodded profusely, running to his side.

"Remember," the Commander started explaining. "When you use sweet topping such as chocolate chips and marshmallow, you don't have to put too much sugar…"

-x—

It wasn't hard for her to find a seat to eat. But it could get difficult finding an empty table.

Quistis Trepe forced herself to smile at the Trepies surrounding her. She was tired. It was late and she didn't want to soothe any more attention craver than those who did it in her classes. All she wanted to do was eat and leaving as quickly as she could. But who would let Instructor Trepe do that?

Pretending to listen on their babbles and telltales, she looked down to her food. She didn't even feel like having a meal now.

Was there nothing else she could do in B-Garden? She began to get tired of this. Teaching, smiling to students and posing for the kids, it was tiring. She longed for the days of their adventure. The six of them, travelling all over the world, each had a different view of the journey but in the end they were bound to one goal: winning against evil.

Quistis wondered if her tiredness would show, if she massaged her temples or her stiff neck in front of them. What would they do then? Offered to massage her? Well, she better off without _that_.

Viewing this as an unfair punishment, she was quick spotting a familiar figure that crossed the cafeteria. She threw him an exasperated look, hidden behind her blank stare at the Trepies, hoping he would get the message.

He did. Irvine gaited towards her, just like a knight on top of a white Chocobo, grinning to the Trepies. Quistis hoped he would rescue her from this prolonged task. Once again, he did as she hoped.

"Hello, girls," he greeted, tipping his hat to several giggling female Trepies who greeted back, winking to them. "May I have a chat with her? There's something I need."

It didn't take long for the Trepies to leave them. Irvine sat across Quistis, smiling. "Are you okay?" he said.

"I've been better." Quistis shoved her untouched plate of food to him. "Here, your pay."

"Aah." Irvine smiled. "I know you're the type who pays your worker in time, Instructor."

Quistis supported her chin with her palm, watching Irvine while he ate her dinner. "Has something happened? Do you have a new mission or something? It's rare that I see you in here at..." Glancing at her wristwatch, she continued, "Nine."

Irvine was too focused on his food. "Yeah, something like that," he said without looking up.

It took no longer than five minutes for the starved man to finish the meal. Quistis studied the man as he sat up straight, his complexion now looked well.

"If there's something wrong, just tell me, okay?" she stated, waiting for the sniper to nod.

Irvine gave her a suave smile. "My problem is retrieving a code, Instructor."

"Code?" she asked, interested. Was this a new mission from Squall? Maybe she could be a part of it. Leaving this place for a week or more sounded good.

"Code," replied him, winking. "I need a code to your heart. Or at least, a door code to your dorm."

Why did she even bother?

Quistis smacked her forehead in vexation, ignoring the grinning player. "Just go, please."

Tipping his head to her, the man turned and left the cafeteria. He walked in the hallway, wondering what he should do with his acquired knowledge. He didn't want to tell the Commander about it yet. It could be a misunderstanding. But it was quite hard to be one, considering the circumstances. Then again, what would he get other than resentment from Rinoa if he chose to report this?

Irvine patted his full stomach. He could tell Selphie that he was meeting an old friend at Balamb and he had eaten at the restaurant. None of it was a lie.

Opening the door to their dorm, Irvine decided not to tell Squall about what happened. If Rinoa wanted to, she could tell him herself. He would take a close look at her from now on, of course, in case she decided to do something dismaying to his best friend.

He certainly didn't expect the man he was thinking about sitting on his kitchen counter eating their pie. Selphie sat next to Squall, giggling and talking to him. She looked at the door when he entered, smiling to him and waving. "Irvy!" she shouted with glee. "You're back!"

"I'm home," her boyfriend responded tentatively, removing his coat and hanging it on the hanger next to the door. "Yo, Squall."

The Commander nodded, still eating his pie. Irvine always thought it was _their_ pie, but now he wasn't so sure anymore.

Oh well. Irvine shrugged, sitting on the sofa. "Sorry, Selph, I met an old friend, so I've had dinner."

"Okay!" she said.

Irvine almost fell off the sofa. "Okay?"

"Yeah, Squall ate your portion for you," she informed.

Irvine watched Squall warily. He was doing well for a virgin tester of Selphie's pie. Perhaps he would emit it all in his own dorm, away from her watchful eyes. It was amusing to see he pretended to enjoy it. He was good at feigning. Commander Leonhart… who would've guessed?

Finishing his pie, Squall placed the empty plate on the counter next to him before hopping down to the floor. "Thanks for the food," he said to Selphie.

"Thank you to you!" she reacted, but soon schooled her expression as Irvine raised his brow.

"I better go now," the Commander said. Selphie nodded and hopped down as well, accompanying her guest towards the door.

"Bye, Squall!" she said, waving to him as the brunette left. Closing the door, she turned to her boyfriend. "Having a nice day today?"

Irvine beamed, now that he had his girl all for himself. "I'm enjoyin' it, but not as much."

"Oh?" Walking closer, she sat on his lap without a second thought. "Why is that?"

"You're not there with me," he whispered in her ear. She giggled and cuddled closer against him. "How about you?"

"I'm having fun!" she said. "I'm helping Squall with his paperwork. He said I'm good at it!" Burying her face in the crook of his neck, she sighed, loosely wrapping her arms around him.

He started feeling uneasy.

She snuggled her nose against his neck and trailing him with kisses. Smiling, Irvine tried to stay calm and not reacting against her. Yet he couldn't stop shivering when she caressed his jaw in a loving manner.

That was when he realized it.

He never wanted to be intimate with her.

She was never his lover.

-x—

She pushed the door open a bit, peeking in. The living room was dark. It could mean two things: either her boyfriend was sleeping or he wasn't home yet.

Tiptoeing inside, she closed the door, trying not to make any sounds. She tiptoed all the way to the sofa, sitting on it. But there was something on the sofa beneath her. Frowning, she traced the strange object with her hands.

It was hard. Oh, wait. It was soft.

She cursed. She should've come home sooner. Now she was afraid of turning the lights on, he might be awake if she did it. Still tracing the weird thing beneath her, she wondered what it was.

Hm… this felt like…

She was stunned in place. She knew exactly what she held.

A fur coat.

"Where have you been?" his cold voice echoed inside the room, the owner of the voice lay beneath her. "Do you know what time is this?"

She _really_ should've come home sooner.

* * *

_To be continued…_


End file.
